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Conflict Resolution and Peacebuilding News

The Ukraine crisis has come full circle. While images of revolution, war, annexation, and invasion remain fresh, it is important to remember that this upheaval actually began as a trade dispute. The EU and Ukraine wanted to increase trade via the association agreement, and Russia loudly objected, first with words and soon thereafter with guns. A shaky cease-fire is now in place, but any lasting solution to this crisis begins where it started, namely with trade.

"The implications of events in Yemen extend beyond its borders. If the Houthis secured Bab Al Mandab and the sea in Al Hudaydah governorate, another strategic waterway, they would control the traffic from the Suez Canal and the Persian Gulf, a sobering prospect for those worried about increased Iranian influence in the region,"

"This is a key moment for the students. The chief executive is certainly not going to leave and the crowds are now smaller than they have been; it is reasonable to assume that those who remain are more radical, are willing to go a little bit further," says Robert Daly.

"Hong Kong’s problem will continue for as long as the structural sources of conflict cannot be addressed. The identity crises in Hong Kong, Xinjiang, Taiwan, and Tibet will surely become Beijing’s real tests and dilemmas. How well the Chinese leadership deals with these crises will determine China’s rise and future development," writes Global Fellow Zheng Wang.

"At first glance, Russia's ally China seems to be in big trouble, with the protests in Hong Kong and fears of a new Tiananmen Square. Yet they might be overblown. Given the current situation in Hong Kong, China’s most likely course of action is to make some concessions, arrest protest leaders and discipline local authorities," writes Fellow Jack Goldstone.

"It's the reality that we're being pulled inexorably like a moth to a flame not just toward a military conflict with Assad, but toward bearing the responsibility for fixing -- or worse for creating -- the new Syria...we may well end up in the very place U.S. President Barack Obama has willfully tried to avoid: nation-building," writes Aaron David Miller.

"Despite its claims to the contrary, ISIS looks outmatched. But our recent strikes were just an opening salvo. A considered, long-term strategy (including kinetic action) needs a careful framework and congressional authorization. The debate is crucial, and the only way to make room for debate is with a special session of Congress. The president should seek it now," writes Jane Harman.

"There is something distinctly American about Mr. Modi. His rise from a tea-seller’s son to high office through hard work and a strong embrace of the free market is reminiscent of a Horatio Alger rags-to-riches tale. Additionally, Mr. Modi’s courtship of the Indian diaspora and U.S. business is freighted with positive implications for bilateral ties," says Michael Kugelman.

"Russians have come to depend on their belief in Putin as much as he depends on their support. Instead of serving as a source of stability, as it did in the past, this mutual dependence is driving Russia toward political and economic isolation – with serious consequences for ordinary Russians’ livelihoods," writes Maxim Trudolyubov.